Français africain

African French

Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, French)

FamilyIndo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, French) Speakers~167M (regional aggregate, mostly L2) ScriptLatin CountriesSub-Saharan and North African Francophone countries Official inVarious (official in 21+ African countries) Vitalitysafe

African French (français d'Afrique) is the umbrella term for the varieties of French spoken across the 21+ Francophone African states, with ~167M speakers (overwhelmingly L2 alongside indigenous African languages). DRC alone has ~50M French speakers, making it the largest French-speaking country by population. Each region has distinctive features: Ivorian Nouchi street register, Senegalese Wolof contact features, Cameroonian Camfranglais code-mixing, Maghreb Arabic-French diglossia. By 2050, demographic projections suggest 80%+ of all French speakers will be African — making African French the future demographic center of the language.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in African French

Water

eau

o

Fire

feu

fø

Sun

soleil

sɔlɛj

Moon

lune

lyn

Star

étoile

etwal

Night

nuit

nɥi

Rain

pluie

plɥi

Snow

neige

nɛʒ

Wind

vent

vɑ̃

Earth

terre

tɛʁ

Stone

pierre

pjɛʁ

Mountain

montagne

mɔ̃taɲ

Sea

mer

mɛʁ

Mother

mère

mɛʁ

Father

père

pɛʁ

Daughter

fille

fij

I

je

ʒə

You

tu

ty

We

nous

nu

Name

nom

nɔ̃

Person

personne

pɛʁsɔn

Head

tête

tɛt

Eye

œil

œj

Ear

oreille

ɔʁɛj

Nose

nez

ne

Mouth

bouche

buʃ

Tooth

dent

dɑ̃

Tongue

langue

lɑ̃ɡ

Hand

main

mɛ̃

Foot

pied

pje

Heart

cœur

kœʁ

Bone

os

ɔs

Blood

sang

sɑ̃

Poop

caca

kaka

Love

amour

amuʁ

Tree

arbre

aʁbʁ

Dog

chien

ʃjɛ̃

Cat

chat

ʃa

Fish

poisson

pwasɔ̃

Bird

oiseau

wazo

Butterfly

papillon

papijɔ̃

Egg

œuf

œf

Bear

ours

uʁs

Horse

cheval

ʃəˈval

House

maison

mɛzɔ̃

Milk

lait

lɛ

Honey

miel

mjɛl

Salt

sel

sɛl

Wine

vin

vɛ̃

Rice

riz

ʁi

Chocolate

chocolat

ʃɔkɔˈla

Iron

fer

fɛʁ

Wheel

roue

ʁu

Silk

soie

swa

Book

livre

livʁ

Eat

manger

mɑ̃ʒe

Drink

boire

bwaʁ

Sleep

dormir

dɔʁˈmiʁ

One

un

œ̃

Two

deux

dø

Three

trois

tʁwa

Four

quatre

katʁ

Five

cinq

sɛ̃k

Hundred

cent

sɑ̃

Hello

bonjour

bɔ̃ʒuʁ

Thank you

merci

mɛʁsi

Good

bon

bɔ̃

New

nouveau

nuvo

Red

rouge

ʁuʒ

White

blanc

blɑ̃

Black

noir

nwaʁ

Green

vert

vɛʁ

Blue

bleu

blø

Cuckoo

coucou

kuku

Woof

ouaf ouaf

waf waf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cocorico

kɔkɔʁiko

Computer

ordinateur

ɔʁdinatœʁ

Wi-Fi

wifi

wifi

Sushi

sushi

suʃi

Tea

thé

te

Coffee

café

kafe

Sugar

sucre

sykʁ

Orange

orange

ɔʁɑ̃ʒ

Ninety-nine

quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

katʁəvɛ̃disnœf

Dopamine

dopamine

dɔpamin

At sign

arobase

aʁɔbaz

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Romance, Gallo-Romance, French)

Meaning African FrenchSenegalese FrenchIvorian FrenchHaitian FrenchFrenchCameroonian FrenchLuxembourg French
Water eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/ eau /o/
Fire feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/ feu /fø/
Sun soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/ soleil /solɛj/ soleil /sɔlɛj/
Moon lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/ lune /lyn/
Star étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/ étoile /etwal/
Night nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/ nuit /nɥi/
Rain pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/ pluie /plɥi/
Snow neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/ neige /nɛʒ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

African French
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

African French
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum që pashë në një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ἐγὼ βούλομαι πειρᾶσθαι ἱμάτιον ὃ εἶδον ἐν καπηλείῳ ἐναντίον τοῦ πανδοκείου
I want to try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Yo quiero probarme un traje que vi en una tienda enfrente del hotel

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